Objective:

A common expectation for patients after elective spine surgery is that the procedure will result in pain reduction and minimize the need for pain medication. Most studies report changes in pain and function after spine surgery, but few report the extent of opioid use after surgery. This systematic review aims to identify the rates of opioid use after lumbar spine fusion.

Material and methods:

PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Ovid Medline were searched to identify studies published between 1 January 2005 and 30 June 2020 that assessed the effectiveness of lumbar fusion for the management of low back pain.

Results:

Of 6,872 abstracts initially identified, 329 studies met the final inclusion criteria, and only 32 (9.7%) reported any postoperative opioid use. Long-term opioid use after surgery persists for more than one in three patients with usage ranging from 6 to 85.9% and a pooled mean of 35.0% based on data from 21 studies (6.4% of all lumbar fusion studies).

Discussion:

Overall, opioid use is not reported in the majority of lumbar fusion trials. Patients may expect a reduced need for opioid-based pain management after surgery, but the limited data available suggests long-term use is common. Lack of consistent reporting of these outcomes limits definitive conclusions regarding the efficacy of spinal fusion for reducing long-term opioid. Patient decisions about undergoing surgery may be altered if they had realistic expectations about rates of postsurgical opioid use. Spine surgery trials should track opioid utilization out to a minimum of 6 months after surgery as a core outcome.